Car-door.



F. HORN.

GAR DOORl ABPLIGATION FILED JULY :1.

Patented May 24p IMG.

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FRANK HORN, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

CAR-DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 24, 1910.

Application led July 19, 1909. Serial No. 508,400.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK HORN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the improvement of car doors and has particular relation to means for supporting and operating said doors.

The objects of my invention are to provide novel and improved means for securing a door over the doorway of a car and for releasing said door from its closed position; to provide improved means for movably supporting the door in connection with the car; to provide improved means for locking the door in a. partially open position to permit of ventilation of the car; to provide means for locking the car door into desirable contact with the body of the car when the door has been moved to one side of the doorway; to so construct and arrange my im.- proved operating mechanism as to admit of a door being readily moved to and locked in a closed position or readily released therefrom; to provide improved means for sealing the locked operating mechanism and to produce other improvements, the details of which will be more fully pointed out hereinafter. These objects I accomplish in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car body, showing my improved door in a locked or closed position in the doorway, Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line X-X of Fig. 1, showing the door thrown outward in position for being moved lengthwise of the car and showing in dotted lines the osition of the door with reference to the oorway o-n the first or initial movement of the operating means, Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse section through the locked operating bar and the locking member carried thereby, and, Fig. 4 is a detail view in perspective of the lock operating device, which is adapted to be connected with a car door in the manner hereinafter described.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

1 represents the side of a car and 2 the doorway thereof. Above and below the car doorway and extending to one side of the latter, are parallel track bars 3 and 4, each of these track bars being supported from the car body through the medium of suitable intervening brackets 5, which are connected by means of bolts G with both the track bar and the side of the car. Loosely embracing the outer and upper and lower sides of the upper track bar 3, are separated channeled hangers 7, each of these hangers having j ournaled in its upper portion small track wheels or rollers 8, which bear upon the upper side of said track bar and from which the hangers are suspended. The lower portion of each of the hangers 7 is bifurcated and in said bifurcation is pivoted the upper end of a liat link or connecting member 9, the lower end of said link being pivoted between two outwardly projecting and upwardly extending lugs 10a of a vertical bracket plate 10. These bracket plates 10 are secured, as shown, to the outer face of the upper portion of a car door 11. It will be noted that owing to the degree of projection of the hangers 7 from the car body, the connecting members 9 will be normally supported in the inclined positions indicated in Fig, 2 of the drawing.

To the face of the car door at a suitable height thereon, I secure a locking frame 12, the outer and larger end of which is in the nature of an outwardly curved member, as shown at 12a. Projecting outwardly from the curved member 12"i is a correspondingly curved rack bar 13, which as shown, is in the nature of a gear segment.

14 represents an operating lever or handle bar, one end' of which is pivoted to the smaller and inner end of the frame 12. This bar extends from its pivot point between the rack bar 13 and frame bar 12a and on the outer side of said rack bar the forward face and upper and lower sides of the operating bar 14, are adapted to be embraced by an elongated channeled lock member 15, which at its outer end is pivotally connected with said bar 14 in such manner as to admit of the lock member being swung forwardly from said bar 14. The pivoted lock member l5 is adapted when swung inward to the position shown in the drawing, to have the inner end portions of its upper and lower side walls, engage two of the teeth of the rack bar 13, thus locking the bar 14 in connection with said rack bar. The bar 14 is on the outer side of the rack bar 13, provided with a laterally extending tongue 16 which when the member 15 is closed inward, is adapted to project, as shown, through an opening in the forward side of said lock member. The lock member is adapted to be assured in its locked position bythe engagement with a vertical opening 16'at in the tongue 16 of the outer downturned member of an angular catch linger 17, one end of which is pivoted to the outer face of the lock member 15. Between its pivot point and the rack bar 13, the bar 14 has pivotally connected therewith the upper end of a connecting rod 18. The lower end portion of the connecting rod 18 is bifurcated and embraces loosely a central tongue projection 19a of ahorizontally disposed rod 19 which extends transversely across the lower portion of the door 11 and is journaled in bearing brackets 2O which project from said door. The rod 19 is in thenature of a yoke, its end portions being bent at right angles with the direction of the length of the rod and pivotally connected with horizontally disposed bolts or pivot pins 21 which are carried by the upper ends of channeled guide blocks 22 which loosely embrace the lower track bar 4 and which are adapted to slide thereon.

When the door is in the locked or closed position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, it will be seen that the handle or operating member 14, is secured at such height with reference to the rack bar 13 as to insure through the connections described, an inward pressure of the body of the rod 19 against the lower portion of the door and the side wall of the car adjacent thereto. The car door, the lower portion of which is thus pressed within the doorway of the car, is further assured in its position within said doorway by the links or connecting members 9, which serve to brace the upper portion of the door against outward movement.

It will be understood that in releasing the door from its closed position, the lock member 15 is temporarily thrown out of engagement with the teeth of the rack bar 13 and the handle bar 14 moved downwardly, thus turning the rod 19 outward and thereby moving the door outward from the doorway. It is obvious that when the lower portion of the door has thus been disengaged from the doorway, said door will drop downward to the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 2 of the drawing, in which position the door may be caused to slide in the direction of the length of the car on the track bars 3 and 4 until the doorway is entirely f uncovered. However, it will be understood that in the initial outward and downward movement of the door, the lower portion of the door will, owing to the direct connection of the rod 18 and rod 19, move outward and Vslightly downward before the upper portion leaves the doorway, the door thus being made to assume substantially the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When the door has assumed this partially opened position, it is obvious that the lock member 15 may be thrown into connection with the rack 13 and the door thus held in a suiiiciently open position to permit proper ventilation of the car and at the same time prevent entrance thereto. It will also be understood that when the door has been moved outward and downward and caused to slide clear of the doorway, s aid door may be rigidly locked against the side ofthe car body by an upward movement of the handle 14, thus providing for a comparatively close engagement of the open car door and car body and at the same time obviate any tendency of the door toward sliding on or swinging from its supports. It is obvious that suitable bolt or other projections such as are indicated at 23, may be employed at the ends of the track bars, to limit the sliding movement of thehangers and guide members.

From the construction and operation described, it will be seen that my improved door operating mechanism, is such as to facilitate the proper closing and opening of a car doorway with comparative ease and that the means which I employ are such as do not necessitate the use of undesirable projections from the car door. It will be also understood that the construction described is such as to preclude the possibility of the door being lost from the car.

For the purpose of sealing the door in a locked position, I have provided both arms of the hook linger 'or latch member 17, with small openings with which may be engaged or through which may be passed a suitable sealing wire such as is shown at 24 in Fig. 4 of the drawings. Sov long as the sealing wire connection is provided between the two arms of the hook member 17, it is obvious that said hook member cannot be lifted from engagement with the tongue 16, with the result that the locking member 15 must remain in engagement with the rack teeth.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple and efficient means are herein provided for accomplishing the objects of the invention, but while the elements shown and described are well adapted to serve the purposes for which they are intended, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth, but includes within its purview such changes as may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim, is:

The combination -with a car having a doorway, track bars above and below said doorway, hangers depending from said upper track bar, and sliding guide members on said lower track bar, of a door, inclined link connections between said depending hangers and the upper portion of the door, a yoke rod having its horizontal portion journaled in connection with the lower portion of the door and its outturned end members pivoted in connection with said sliding guide members, a curved rack bar projecting from the door, a pivoted lever, a rack engaging lock member carried by said lever, and a con- 10 necting rod between said lever and an arm l of said yoke rod the throw of the pivoted lever being such that the link connections are maintained in an inclined position when the door is in its lowest position.

In testimony whereof I afiX my signa- 15 ture in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK HORN. Witnesses:

C. C. SHEPHERD, A. L. PHELPS. 

